ConNiPtioNs

The Birth Tax

10/23/2003 @ 2:46pm by Matt Bivens

American Nobel Prize-winning economist George Akerlof says President Bush's government is the "worst ever" in US history, and describes its budget policies as "a form of looting." New York Times columnist and economist Paul Krugman argues that since he has borrowed the money for his feed-the-rich tax cuts, "George W. Bush is like a man who tells you that he's bought you a fancy new TV set for Christmas, but neglects to tell you that he charged it to your credit card, and that while he was at it he also used the card to buy some stuff for himself."

We already owe a monstrous amount of money. As of Wednesday, the US federal debt was $$6,834,787,133,873.25.

So divide $6.8 trillion by the estimated US population of about 292.4 million, and it turns out every American, right down to those in hospital nurseries, inherits an obligation to cough up $23,372. For a family of four, that's a debt of more than $93,000.

Remember when Bill Clinton was president, and instead of adding to that national debt we were paying it off? (read more)